Device for the air conditioning and/or monitoring of building or warehouse areas

ABSTRACT

Device for the air-conditioning and/or monitoring of building or warehouse areas, containing a housing consisting of plastic or composite material shaped as a hollow body and having air entry, air guidance and air exit sections, at least one fan roller provided with a plurality of profiled fins made of composite material or plastic, and drivable by at least one electric motor, the fan roller being positionable inside the housing, and a casing for the housing, formed by a flexible plastic or composite material panel that can be connected to the housing, wherein an end section of the casing can be releasably connected to a housing section, an approximately arc-shaped contour of the casing is formed by bending the casing lying outside the housing, and after further bending of the casing, the free end thereof can be releasably fastened to a different housing section.

The invention relates to a device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building or warehouse areas.

WO 2008/040266 A2 relates to a device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building areas, containing at least a vertically disposed housing, which is configured, at least in certain sections, as a hollow body, and composed of segments, if necessary, and has a predeterminable height, which housing is provided for covered accommodation of components/modules for air conditioning, such as fan rollers, motors or the like, and/or for monitoring of the building area, in each instance, whereby the housing is disposed to be fixed in place in the area of at least one of its face surfaces, to be stationary or movable by way of guide means provided in the area of at least one of its face surfaces, in the building area, in each instance, and the housing has a vertical area that reinforces it, by way of a predeterminable height of its lower section.

The fan rollers addressed here have guide vanes that run vertically, if necessary in combination with elastic bands, in order to meet the requirements of the high speeds of rotation (2000 rpm) indicated.

It is a disadvantage of such a design that the guide vanes usually consist of metal and are configured to run in a straight line. Because of the high circumferential speeds, very high noise levels occur. It is true that the use of such devices has proven itself in practice, but the noise levels are clearly too high approximately 70 dB(A) at a distance of 3 m) where people are working in the immediate vicinity of the device.

It is the goal of the object of the invention to further develop the device described above to the effect that on the one hand, a simple structure exists, and on the other hand, the device also has improved noise behavior, independent of the fan rollers used and of the air amounts passed through.

It is also the goal of the object of the invention to make available a method for the production of a device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building and/or warehouse areas, which device is simple in structure and can be installed within the shortest possible time.

This goal is achieved by a device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building and/or warehouse areas, containing a housing configured from plastic or composite material, as a hollow body, which housing has air entry, air guidance, and air exit sections; at least one fan roller that can be driven by at least one electric motor, having a plurality of profiled fins configured from composite materials or plastic, which roller can be positioned within the housing; and a casing for the housing, formed by a flexible plastic or composite material panel that can be connected with the housing, wherein an end section of the casing can be releasably connected with a housing section, an approximately arc-shaped contour of the casing, in cross-section, is formed by bending the casing outside of the housing, and, after further bending of the casing, the free end of the casing can be releasably fixed in place on a different housing section.

Advantageous further developments of the object of the invention can be derived from the dependent claims.

This goal is also achieved by a method for the production of a device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building or warehouse areas, at least containing at least one housing, at least one related fan roller, and at least one panel that serves as a casing, wherein the components, the housing, the fan roller, and the casing, consist of plastic or a composite material, as well as at least one electric motor, in that the at least one housing is composed of cut-out plastic or composite material parts, the at least one fan roller is inserted into the related housing, the electric motor is jacketed, by analogy to the fan roller, in each instance, with wall areas composed of plastic or composite material, at least one fan roller is disposed in the upper and lower section of the electric motor and brought into an operative connection with connection areas of the motor, the panel is provided with cut-outs for air intake and air exit, and the panel is releasably connected with housing sections of the at least one housing, by being bent about its longitudinal axis.

Advantageous further developments of the method according to the invention can be derived from the related dependent method claims.

Materials such as polycarbonate or the like can be used as plastic materials for the housing, on the one hand, and for the flexible plastic panel, on the other hand. Polycarbonates are plastics from the group of synthetic polymers and the family of polyesters. Polycarbonates that use bisphenol A as the diol component and phosgene are widespread. These are generally amorphous and have a crystalline component of <5%. They are characterized by great strength, impact resistance, rigidity, and hardness.

By means of the use of composite materials/plastics for the device according to the invention, the device has a light construction and can be converted to a state ready for operation, using only a few hand motions.

In order to optimize the degree of effectiveness of the fan rollers, air guide elements provided within the housing are required. For optimization of the resonance behavior, the entire housing, with all the components, is produced from the plastic material that has already been addressed. For the required flow behavior at the air exit area, bodies that advantageously have the shape of a triangle are integrated into the housing. The surface of these bodies, facing the fan rollers, is provided with a profiled surface area or openings, in order to break the indicated resonances of the fan roller(s). In this connection, the housing is configured in such a manner that fan rollers of different sizes, in terms of their diameter, can be used.

It is particularly advantageous that the air guide elements can be adjusted within the housing, as a function of the different diameters of the fan rollers.

The blow-out fins provided on the housing side, in the area of the air exit sections of the housing, have the shape of an airplane wing, in accordance with another idea of the invention, in order to implement the Coanda effect for velocity optimization and an increase in velocity.

It is particularly advantageous to configure the fan rollers in modular manner, in connection with the electric motor, in order to design a type of modular system in this manner.

A high degree of effectiveness of the device presupposes a high speed of rotation of the fan rollers.

As has already been addressed, the fins in conventional fan rollers are made from metal, particularly aluminum, and disposed vertically. This arrangement of the fins has the result that the air masses to be conveyed are cut. This results in an unpleasant, high whistling noise at the high speed of rotation, which persons in the immediate vicinity of the device, in each instance, perceive as disturbing. Because of the slanted arrangement (profiling) according to the invention, a kind of twisting of the fins, which consist of a composite material or, respectively, of a suitable plastic, in their longitudinal direction is achieved. Because of this twisting, the air masses to be conveyed are rolled off (peeled). Furthermore, it is advantageous if the fins have a rounded part. This results in a further reduction in the noises.

By means of the modular production of the modules, cost-advantageous production of the entire device can now be implemented. In this connection, it makes sense to connect the electric motor with the fan rollers, in each instance, by means of pre-fabricated plug-in connections. The advantage that the design can be adapted to the height and width of the entry/gate, in each instance, is also connected with this The modules, in each instance, can already be pre-fabricated and do not have to be structured as individual constructions. It is furthermore advantageous that in the event of failure of a module, only the respective module has to be replaced.

For the arrangement, a casing of the modules, i.e. of the housing is required. The casing offers the modules, i.e. the housing, stability and forms further noise insulation for the roller system. Here, too, a special plastic/a special plastic compound is used. The basic body for the casing is configured as a flexible plastic panel having a predeterminable length and width.

The plastic panel is releasably fixed in place on the housing, viewed over the housing height, subsequently guided along one of the housing surfaces and bent outside of this housing surface, in such a manner that after a bend of about 180°, a section that is configured rounded in cross-section is formed. The round arc formed in this way serves for accommodating illuminants and the electronics that are used, if necessary, i.e. components for safety purposes. By means of further bending, the free end of the plastic panel can also be releasably fixed in place on a different housing surface. In this connection, the plastic panel can be cut to size and installed, in any desired color.

it is particularly advantageous if the casing is produced from or provided with luminous thin-layer components made of organic semiconductive materials, at least in part.

Furthermore, it is also possible to produce the casing entirely from such materials and to provide it as a bendable screen. By means of this measure, the possibility exists of offering information/advertising for customers and the like.

The object of the invention is shown in the drawing, using an exemplary embodiment, and will be described below. The drawing shows:

FIG. 1 cross-section through the housing of the device, including components provided within it;

FIG. 2 schematic diagram of an individual fan roller;

FIG. 3 schematic diagram of a modular structure of multiple fan rollers plus motor;

FIG. 4 representation of the casing, and indicated installation process of the casing on the housing;

FIG. 5 representation of the individual components of the device, as well as explanation of the installation process.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section through the housing 1 of the device according to the invention, together with the components provided in the housing. In this connection, reference is made to the prior art according to WO 2008/040266 A2. The height of the housing 1 can be configured in such a manner as shown in the prior art, in order to be able to bridge the required opening sections of a building or of a warehouse.

Preferably, multiple fan rollers 2, 2′ disposed vertically one on top of the other are positioned within the housing 1. These rollers are described in greater detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. The fan rollers 2, 2′ have different diameters, in order to pass through different air amounts. The housing 1 has an air entry section 3, only indicated here, an air guide element 4 configured in curved shape, an air guide element 5 structured to be approximately triangular in the area of an air guidance section between the fan rollers 2, 2′ and the air guide element 4, as well as air exit sections 6. The air guide element 4, configured in curved shape, is provided with a slide mechanism 7, by means of which the air guide element 4 can be adjusted to adapt it to differently dimensioned fan rollers 2, 2′. The same holds true for the air guide element 5, which also has a motion link 8, by means of which it can be adjusted in the direction of the fan roller 2, 2′. In this example, the housing 1 has a square cross-section and is structured to be relatively thin-walled (5-10 mm) in terms of wall thickness. The housing 1 consists of a plastic, for example polycarbonate. Plastic panels having a predeterminable length, width, and thickness are used, which can be brought into an operative connection with one another by means of gluing, for example.

As a result of this design, a defined gap 9 is formed in the air entry area 3, between the fan roller 2, 2′, in each instance, and the correspondingly positioned air guide element 4, in which gap compression of the air drawn in takes place. After passing by the fan roller 2, 2′, the air enters into an enlarged space 10, in which it can relax. The blow-out fins 11, which are provided in the area of the air exit sections 6, have the shape of an airplane wing in this example, in order to thereby implement the Coanda effect for velocity optimization and an increase in velocity. Seen in the longitudinal direction of the air guide element 5, the surface area 12 of this air guide element 5 is provided with profiles 13, for example in the form of openings, in order to be able to absorb the resonances given off by the fan rollers 2, 2′. As compared with the state of the art, the resonance behavior can be optimized with the object of the invention. As a result of the low noise level of the device according to the invention that now exists, persons can now work in the immediate vicinity of the device without having to expect injury to their health.

FIG. 2, as a schematic diagram, shows a single fan roller 2, which has either a continuous shaft 14 or shaft extensions. The fan roller 2 has a plurality of fins 15, which—in deviation from the state of the art—are disposed not vertically, but rather inclined, particularly twisted. In deviation from the state of the art, the air mass to be conveyed is now no longer cut, and instead, because of the slanted arrangement of the fins 15, the air mass to be conveyed is rolled off (peeled). As indicated, each fin 15 is provided with a rounded part 16. At least the fins 15 are produced from a composite material or a plastic having a predeterminable Shore hardness. Composite materials can be, for example, carbon fibers in combination with a suitable plastic/resin. Because of the slanted arrangement of the fins 15, the unpleasant high-pitched whistling that was usual until now can be at least significantly reduced.

FIG. 3, as a schematic diagram, shows a modular structure of multiple fan rollers 2 in an operative connection with an electric motor 17. The components 2, 17 can be connected with one another, without problems, for example by means of pre-fabricated plug-in connections 18, with the shafts 14/shaft extensions of the fan rollers 2, in order to implement different requirements. In contrast to the state of the art, the electric motor 17 and the fan rollers 2 can now be pre-fabricated and do not need to be always newly produced. This is connected with the advantage that in the event of a failure of a component 2, 17, only the respective component 2, 17 needs to be replaced. The free ends of the respective fan roller 2 can be brought into an operative connection with components of the housing, not shown in any detail here, by way of further plug-in connections 18′ shown in the left image of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 shows the housing 1 of the device according to the invention in cross-section. The air entry section 3, on the one side, and the air exit section 6, on the other side, are indicated with arrows. For further noise reduction and for accommodation of illuminants 19, which are only indicated, a casing 20 is used, which is formed from a plastic panel, for example made of a soft polycarbonate, and demonstrates great flexibility. With regard to the hardness, attention must be paid to using an intelligent plastic, for example, which is formed back into its original position even when external force acts on it. Merely indicated is a section 21 that engages over the air entry section 3. In the same manner, this also holds true for the area of the air exit section 6 (not shown). As indicated in the upper part of FIG. 4, the casing 20 is releasably fixed in place in the area of a surface 22 of the housing section 22′, guided along this surface 22 and subsequently bent in such a manner that a section 23 having an arc-shaped contour 24 is formed. By means of further bending of the casing 20 and guiding it along a surface 25 of the housing 1 that lies opposite the surface 22, the free end 26 of the casing 20 can be releasably brought into an operative connection with a different housing section 27 here, as well. The casing 20 can be configured to be at least partially transparent, in the area of the section 23, so that the illuminants 19 can be effectively used. Further components, such as electronic elements or security elements for a goods security system, can be integrated into the area of the section 23, and these are then provided on areas of the section 23 that are not transparent. The sum of the technical effects implemented in this novel device brings about a reduction in the noise level by at least 30 dB.

In place of the casing 20 produced from plastic here, a casing (not shown) can also be used, which consists partially or entirely of luminous thin-layer components made from organic semiconductive materials (OLED). A person skilled in the art understands this term to mean organic light-emitting diodes ([in English:] organic light emitting diodes), as they are increasingly being used for screens (e.g. TVs, monitors or the like) nowadays. Thus, the device can also be used as an advertising medium/informational medium, if required.

FIG. 5, as a schematic diagram, shows the individual components of the device according to the invention, whereby the installation process is fundamentally explained. The same components are provided with the same reference symbols.

As was already indicated in FIG. 3 and also described in WO 2008/040266 A2, the device consists of multiple individual housing elements 1′. In this example, each housing element 1′ is composed of cut-out plastic elements and serves for accommodation of a fan roller 2, 2′, in each instance. In the same manner, the electric motor 17 is enclosed by a jacketing 17′ made from plastic elements. Any desired housing length of the device can be generated by disposing multiple housing elements 1′ and the jacketing 17′ on top of one another. In the next step, the casing 20 is brought into an operative connection with the housing elements 1′ that form the housing 1, in analogy to FIG. 4. Depending on the construction height of the device, the casing 20 can be configured in one piece or multiple parts—as shown in FIG. 5. Sections 21′ can be seen, which engage over the air exit sections 6 of the housing elements 1′. Before the casing 20 is brought into an operative connection with the housing elements 1′, blow-out grids 28 are applied to the air exit sections 6. Subsequently, intake grids 29 are set onto the housing elements 1′ and the casing 20, for the required air intake. For stabilization of the housing 1 as a whole, if necessary, caps 30 or bottom plates 31, respectively, consisting of plastic, are applied in the upper and lower sections of the related housing elements 1′. In this connection, the bottom plate 31 can already be pre-fabricated with bores or recesses 32, for rapid installation.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

1 housing

1′ housing element

2 fan roller

2′ fan roller

3 air entry section

4 air guide element

4′ air guidance section

5 air guide element

6 air exit section

7 slide mechanism

8 motion link

9 gap

10 space

11 blow-out fin

12 surface area

13 profile

14 shaft

15 fin

16 rounded part

17 electric motor

17′ jacketing

18 plug-in connection

18′ plug-in connection

19 illuminant

20 casing

21 section

21′ section

22 surface

22′ housing section

23 section

24 arc-shaped contour

25 surface

26 free end

27 housing section

28 blow-out grid

29 intake grid

30 cap

31 bottom plate

32 bore/recess 

1. Device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building or warehouse areas, containing a housing (1, 1′) configured from plastic or composite material, as a hollow body, which housing has air entry (3), air guidance (4′), and air exit sections (6); at least one fan roller (2, 2′) that can be driven by at least one electric motor (17), having a plurality of profiled fins (15) configured from composite materials or plastic, which roller can be positioned within the housing (1, 1′); and a casing (20) for the housing (1, 1′), formed by a flexible plastic or composite material panel that can be connected with the housing (1, 1′), in such a manner that an end section of the casing (20) can be releasably connected with a housing section (22′), an approximately arc-shaped contour (24) of the casing, in cross-section, is formed by bending the casing (20) outside of the housing (1, 1′), and, after further bending of the casing (20), the free end (26) of the casing can be releasably fixed in place on a different housing section (27).
 2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the housing (1, 1′) comprises polycarbonate, at least the fins (15) comprise a plastic having a predeterminable Shore hardness, and the casing (20) comprises polycarbonate.
 3. Device according to claim 1, wherein a mixture of carbon fiber composite materials can be used as the composite material.
 4. Device according to claim 1, wherein pre-shaped air guide elements (4, 5) are provided within the housing (1, 1′), for targeted flow to the fins (15), in such a manner that a gap (9) for compression is formed on the fan roller side, and a space (10) for relaxation of the air is formed outside the respective fan roller (2, 2′).
 5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the air guide elements (4, 5) are configured to be adjustable for adaptation to different fan roller diameters.
 6. Device according to claim 1, comprising air guide elements (4, 5) having different geometrical configurations in the area of the air guidance (4′) and air exit sections (6).
 7. Device according to claim 1, wherein air guide elements (5) provided in the area of the air exit sections (6) are provided with a profiled surface area (12).
 8. Device according to claim 1, wherein multiple housing elements (1′) containing fan rollers (2, 2′) configured as modules are positioned within the housing (1), which elements can be driven by at least one electric motor (17) that stands in an operative connection with them.
 9. Device according to claim 1, wherein at least two housing elements (1′) can be releasably connected with one another by means of an electric motor (17) disposed between them, particularly by means of plug-in connections (18).
 10. Device according to claim 1, wherein the fins (15) of the fan rollers (2, 2′) are profiled in such a manner that a kind of twisting of the fins (15) is formed, seen in the longitudinal direction.
 11. Device according to claim 1, wherein the blow-out fins (11) on the housing side are configured in the manner of an airplane wing, in terms of their cross-section.
 12. Device according to claim 1, wherein the fan fins (15) are provided with a rounded part (16) in the area of their outer surface.
 13. Device according to claim 1, wherein the casing (20), which is configured to be planar, contains at least one section (21) having air entries.
 14. Device according to claim 1, wherein the casing (20) is configured to be transparent at least in the area of the arc (24).
 15. Device according to claim 1, wherein the area (24) of the casing (20) that is configured to be arc-shaped is provided for accommodation of illuminants (19) and/or security elements.
 16. Method for the production of a device for air conditioning and/or monitoring of building or warehouse areas, at least containing at least one housing (1, 1′), at least one related fan roller (2, 2′), and at least one panel that serves as a casing (20), wherein the components, the housing (1, 1′), the fan roller (2, 2′), and the casing (20), comprise plastic or a composite material, as well as at least one electric motor (17), wherein the at least one housing (1, 1′) is composed of cut-out plastic or composite material parts, the at least one fan roller (2, 2′) is inserted into the related housing (1, 1′), the electric motor (17) is jacketed, by analogy to the fan roller, in each instance, with wall areas composed of plastic or composite material, at least one fan roller (2, 2′) is disposed in the upper and lower section of the electric motor (17) and brought into an operative connection with connection areas (14, 18) of the motor, the panel (20) is provided with cut-outs (21) for air intake and air exit, and the panel (20) is releasably connected with housing sections (22′, 27) of the at least one housing (1, 1′), by being bent about its longitudinal axis.
 17. Method according to claim 16, wherein a separate housing element (1′) is assigned to each fan roller (2, 2′), wherein after a corresponding number of housing elements (1′) has been set one on top of the other, with the inclusion of the jacketing (17′) of the electrical motor, an overall housing (1) is formed, onto which the casing (20) is fastened.
 18. Method according to claim 16, wherein intake (29) or blow-out grids (28) comprising plastic or composite material are set onto the cut-outs (21) of the casing (20).
 19. Method according to claim 16, wherein the casing (20) is produced, at least in part, from a luminous thin-layer component made from organic semiconductive materials or at least partially brought into an operative connection with a thin-layer component.
 20. Method according to claim 16, wherein the casing (20) is produced entirely as a bendable OLED screen.
 21. Method according to one claim 16, wherein the lower and the upper end area of the housing elements (1′) or of the casing (20), respectively, are brought into an operative connection with lower and upper end elements (30, 31) comprising plastic. 